I often feel myself an outlier. Very simple. I am a male. And I read. Perhaps because I work in the university world, I do know a number of men who read. But in the wider society, not so much.

My Facebook page is a case in point. Of my 85,000 plus followers, only 29% are men and 71% women. Now 29% is nearly 25,000 and so it is hardly the case that no men are reading. Likewise, when I look for images of people reading to post, they probably run 10 to 1 in favor of women. Try finding images of BIPOC persons and it is even harder.

More women have read a book in the last year. Women read more books. And in a shift, women authors are dominating publishing, which was not always the case. Nearly every one of the celebrity book clubs and influencers I can think of are women. Levar Burton and James Patterson are the only ones who come to mind as male book influencers…and maybe Barack Obama and Bill Gates when they post about what they are reading.

I say kudos to the women! The last thing I want is for women to step back so men can step ahead. Rather, I simply want men to step up and read and be reading influencers. I hope in a small way that I am doing that myself. Here’s a few reasons:

1. Read for yourself. Sitting down with a book, even a Jack Reacher novel or a Tom Clancy thriller reminds you of worlds beyond your own and people courageously meeting troubles that dwarf your own.
2. Sharpen the sword. All of us need to keep learning to stay nimble in our rapidly changing world. There are a variety of ways to do that but reading is still one of the best.
3. Understanding our times. Our society faces a variety of complex challenges, many too great to leave to our politicians alone. We need a knowledgeable, engaged citizenry who can dig beneath “talking points” to real solutions.
4. For the sake of our children, especially for our sons, who take many of their cues from us. Part of it is reading with both our sons and daughters. Not only can reading together create warm, joyous family times, but they create rich memories for both us and our children. Also, being seen reading, as well as doing all the more physically active things from tossing a football to building a piece of furniture to loading the dishwasher says real men do all these things–and many more–but that reading is a part of it.
5. Have more interesting things to talk about with your spouse or partner. Nuff said!

I hear men complain that bookstores seem to feature books more oriented toward women. There may be a grain of truth in that, simply because bookstores configure themselves to who buys the books! If that bothers you, ask a bookseller to help you find books that you like. Any good one will love such request and the more men make that request and buy books, the more that may balance out.

This is actually a good time of the year to start in places that celebrate Father’s Day. Many stores will feature books that they’ve found make good gifts for men. So men, this is a good time to treat yourself. And those with men in their lives–husbands, fathers, sons, grandfathers–this is a good time to look for gifts. And the more that happens, the more stores will sell books for both genders.

I realize as I write that I have suggested a fairly gendered view of books–books women prefer and those men prefer. I think there are many books that may appeal to both–for example Louise Penny’s Gamache stories. As a guy, I want to be like Gamache (and I suspect many women wish they were married to him!). My mother loved Tom Clancy novels and introduced me to them! But many genres favor one over the other. Romance is read, in one statistic, by 84% women to 16% men. I think this variety is good and that people should read what they like, not what they “should.”

So one piece of advice if you are thinking of buying a book for dad this Father’s Day, buy him something he will like, not something you think he “should” read. What are his interests? And if he has read, what did he like? Your bookseller will be glad to help you find that right book. Just don’t wait until the Saturday before!